The present disclosure relates generally to dithering, and more particularly, to error diffusion and spatiotemporal dithering in electronic displays.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Electronic displays (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs)) are commonly used as screens or displays for a wide variety of electronic devices, including such consumer electronics as televisions, computers, and handheld devices (e.g., cellular telephones, audio and video players, gaming systems, and so forth). Such display devices typically provide a flat display in a relatively thin and low weight package that is suitable for use in in a variety of electronic goods. In addition, such display devices typically use less power than comparable display technologies, making them suitable for use in battery powered devices or in other contexts where it is desirable to minimize power usage.
Display devices typically include thousands (e.g., or millions) of picture elements, e.g., pixels, arranged in rows and columns. For any given pixel of a display device, the amount of light that viewable on the display depends on the voltage applied to the pixel. However, applying a single direct current (e.g., DC) voltage could eventually damage the pixels of the display. Thus, to prevent such possible damage, display devices typically alternate, or invert, the voltage applied to the pixels between positive and negative DC values for each pixel.
To display a given color at a given pixel, the display device may receive a set of bits of image data, whereby portions of the set of bits of data correspond to each of the pixel colors. However, as the transition time for these displays have increased, pixels may not transition to a new color rapidly enough, which may lead to an undesired effect on the image termed “motion blurring.” To minimize this motion blurring, response times of the display devices may be increased. One manner in which to improve response times of the display devices may include reducing a portion size of data corresponding to each of the primary colors.
The reduction of data bits corresponding to colors may allow the pixels of the display device to transition from one level to another more rapidly, however, it may also reduce the number of levels (e.g., colors) that each pixel may be able to render. To overcome this reduction in levels, dithering of the pixels may be performed. Dithering of the pixels may include applying slightly varying shades of color in a group of adjacent pixels to “trick” the human eye into perceiving the desired color, despite the fact that none of the pixels may be actually displaying the desired color.
The use of dithering may allow display devices that receive lower-bit color data to simulate colors achievable by higher-bit color data display devices. However, use of dithering may, in combination with the display device inversion techniques discussed above, lead to generation of visible artifacts on the display device. It may be useful to provide more advanced and improved image dithering techniques.